Spells, Lies and Binding Potions
by desi393
Summary: EPISODE 3 In the Next Generation season. Surprises from the Bennetts and an actual innocent, someone fairly familiar to the Charmed Ones! Please rr
1. Exchanging Confidences

Disclaimer-I do not own charmed or any characters from it.

A/N this is the third episode of my Next Generation Season.

(X)

Four robed girls sat in a circle, surrounded by candles. A ceremonial athame passed from hand to hand. Each girl took a turn cutting her palm and holding her hand over the cauldron that sat in the circle's center.

"Now, we get to ask for what we want," breathed one girl excitedly.

"Yeah, shouldn't we be able to now? I mean we offered our blood and all…" came timidly from the girl on her right.

"We'll be lucky if it works at all," sighed the next girl, giving the first two a scornful look. "It's obvious the two of you aren't concentrating very hard." Anger smoldered in her hard gaze.

"We'll be lucky if it works at all, because we shouldn't be asking for gifts by using magic," interjected the last girl, calmly.

"Let's get on with it before Laura backs out," demanded the third girl, now focusing her scornful stare on the fourth.

"I just think that we should be more careful with magic. Have more respect," Laura replied coolly, unconcerned with her friend's dark mood. She continued in soft warning, "I also think we should be careful what we wish for."

(X)

With it's white marble columns, gauzy white material hanging over the sky painted mural walls, any first time diner at Angel's was always amazed. Piper had even demanded a mural painted on the floor, so that her customers felt that they were walking on clouds and seeing Earth from on high. The décor grabbed your attention, but Piper's heavenly cooking, kept it. Inside the beautifully unearthly restaurant, Piper was busily at work. Normally at this time of night, she would be home with Leo and Melinda, but today her hostess had called in sick and no one else could take her place, leaving Piper to hostess. Piper much preferred being in the kitchen than working the dining room, but sometimes, even as the owner, she didn't have a choice.

She spotted Palmer, her busboy. She was happy that Wyatt had vouched for him. He was a good worker, always on time and very polite. She wondered, though, if someone was bullying him; he often had a hunted look about him, which set her maternal instincts into overdrive. With his facial features and dark hair, he could easily belong to her family, except for his eyes. Only Prue had had eyes of such an intense blue.

Wyatt had started driving the young man home every night. Piper winced. Home for Palmer and his family was a hotel. She couldn't fathom it; she hoped his family settled quickly. How difficult it must be to live out of suitcases in a hotel! Luckily, Palmer's hotel was on the way to Wyatt's loft.

"I'm glad I got to work tonight," she said conspirationally to Palmer.

"Why?" He asked in bewilderment, everyone at Angel's knew the kitchen was Piper's domain and as a wife and mother, she would always choose to be home with her family in the evening.

"Because, I haven't really seen you since I hired you." She smiled warmly. "Janice tells me that you're taking college classes during the day. Are you doing okay with homework? I'm not making you work too many hours am I?"

"Not at all," Palmer grinned, "I'm just taking some courses to become a police officer. My dad was one, in our old town," he explained, "He's hoping to be hired by the San Francisco P.D. but until then he's quizzing me on my assignments."

"What does your mother do?" Piper asked, clearly interested, as she helped him clear the last table of the night.

"Nothing since we moved. She was a photographer, but she says she lost the heart for it. She said our old home was too ugly to be inspiring. My oldest brother started working at 415 and he keeps trying to get her to see the beauty of San Francisco, she's starting to come around." He grinned at Piper, his relief that his mother was starting to enjoy her new home clear on his face.

Piper grinned back.

(X)

In the loft that Chris and Wyatt shared, Chris was busy straightening up. Business at P3 had been doing so well that he'd hired another two bartenders and an assistant manager, which left Chris with a night off once in awhile. He was thankful that P3 was doing so well, and even more thankful because with 'demon duty' he could now afford to NOT be at P3 all the time.

Truth be told, Chris had expected to be having more trouble from the underworld by now. Magic had been back for a few weeks and still no major battles had been fought. The demon bartender from the first night hadn't bothered them again, yet. Chris was unsettled; he knew that when the battles started they would be fast and deadly. He wondered just what the underworld was waiting for. When he'd mentioned these fears to Wyatt, Wyatt had replied, "Maybe they don't want to tangle with us," and laughed before turning serious and warning Chris about jinxing them. Looking around the spotless room, he nodded in satisfaction.

Since no trouble had really presented itself, Chris had decided to tackle Pace, at least the mystery surrounding the man. Wyatt still had a few doubts about Pace, but at least he wasn't as vehemently opposed to him as he had been. Chris hoped to finally get to the bottom of Pace's story, and prove that Pace was no threat. Chris hated being inactive, he was a doer and a strategist by nature. When the doorbell rang, Chris answered it.

"Hi, Pace, come on in." Chris invited, stepping aside to allow the man to enter. 'Plan A: get Pace talking in a place where he couldn't hide behind his work and avoid answering questions. Check,' thought Chris.

"Wow, this place is amazing," Pace said as he entered. His blue eyes took in the open layout of the loft, the high ceilings and comfortable but stylish furnishings mixed with the occasional antique.

"Well, it's a bachelor residence anyway," Chris laughed, "Looks good, but no home cooked meals, we still go to Mom's for that."

"Yeah, well we're still living out of a hotel," Pace supplied.

Chris winced in sympathy, "No luck house hunting?"

"No, my mom is very particular about where she wants to live." Pace shook his head ruefully, "There wouldn't be any vacancies here would there?" He asked Chris hopefully, taking a seat on the overstuffed couch.

"I think the girl upstairs is moving out next month, but she's only got two bedrooms," Chris answered, taking the chair opposite. It was one thing to live with your family when you were in your twenties in fact; it was beyond acceptable in Chris' opinion, but quite another matter entirely to have to share a bedroom with your two adult brothers while you were at it!

"Maybe I can use the month to convince my mom that we don't all have to live together," Pace mused. "She's just gotten used to us all being in the same place again. Parker and I had an apartment in our last city. She really hated it, but she understood."

"Why did you all move?" Chris asked, leaping on the opening Pace had supplied.

"It was…bad, lot's of…um crime. My Aunt was killed by some de…decidedly bad guys and finally, Parker convinced mom that we should leave. Mom put her house on the market, it devastated her, that house had been in the family for generations."

"I can imagine. My mom's house is like that. My mom and Aunts were raised there; I can't ever see my mom not being at the manor." Chris shared. He hoped that his talking would encourage Pace to keep the conversation going.

"Funny thing is, bad as the city was, the house sold within a week. So, we came straight here. Mom has the money from the sale of the house, she could buy another but so far she hasn't found any that she likes." He shrugged.

The front door opened and Wyatt Halliwell entered the loft. "Hi, Pace," he said, "I just dropped Palmer at your hotel. He's doing really well," Wyatt knew that as an older brother it could be a relief to hear that a younger sibling was doing fine.

"Thanks," Pace smiled gratefully, "I'm taking him car shopping tomorrow."

"He told me," Wyatt said, "But what I don't get is that you had cars and homes where you came from, why didn't you drive here?" Wyatt asked.

Chris watched it happen, the unusually talkative Pace had just reverted to form, Chris sighed.

"It was just easier the way we did it," Pace said guardedly. Chris shot his brother a look, a look he hoped Wyatt would interpret as _get the hell out of here, I've got it covered. _Wyatt correctly interpreted the look and ignored it.

"It was easier to leave houses, cars, every personal belonging, jobs, family and friends to come here empty handed with no jobs and live in a hotel?" Wyatt argued softly, "Why didn't anyone at least set up jobs before the move?"

"We are the only family left, possessions meant nothing, and we wouldn't jeopardize any friends by having any. I thought things would be different here. Apparently, you two are so wrapped up in playing 'Good Cop/ Bad Cop' that you're forgetting that we are supposed to be friends, or at least friendly. If you're done interrogating me…" Pace stood and strode towards the door.

"Pace…" Wyatt began, only to be interrupted by a demon shimmering into the loft.

The demon was the bartender from P3, who had escaped. 'Obviously, he feels more confident,' Chris figured and then groaned. They did not need an attack now! Pace was already unsettled by Wyatt's Gestapo tactics, how freaked would he be by a demon? Chris didn't get a chance to look at Pace to see his reaction because the demon came in throwing fireballs. The fireballs seemed to be coming from everywhere, when Chris glanced around; he saw that the demon had come with company. 'No wonder he felt confident enough to face us even though we are together' Chris mused as he ducked under a ball of fire. Wyatt was busy volleying the other demon's fireballs back at him, finally hitting him with one. The demon burst into flame. Unfortunately, one of the fireballs had escaped Wyatt's tk volleys and was heading straight for Chris who didn't see it coming. Before Wyatt could shout a warning, the room froze. Wyatt stopped in shock, 'that's new' he thought. He looked at Chris, who seemed as surprised as he did. They both turned to Pace who was not frozen.

Correctly guessing what had happened, Chris warned, "You are _so _explaining when this is over!"

Pace shrugged, "I guess I can't keep it secret forever." Then he began to chant,

"Foul demon,

from the depths of hell,

death takes you with this spell." The demon burst into flame and disintegrated. "Low level demon," Pace explained, "I just thought up that spell."

Wyatt looked around at all the scorch marks, "We are definitely not getting our deposit back," he stated wryly.

Pace waved his hand again and the scorch marks disappeared.

**Piper- Holly Marie Combs**

**Palmer- Zac Efron**

**Chris- Drew Fuller**

**Pace- Teddy Dunne**

**Wyatt- Wes Ramsey**

A/N For any newcomers, I like to give my idea of who should play 'my' recurring characters. Btw I figure the Charmed Ones aged well ; )

**NEW A/N I am reworking this epi now but plan on doing it in a more organized fashion. I'll leave little notes like this one to let you know that a chapter is thoroughly 'done'. I promise I will NOT introduce any new characters. **


	2. confessions

Confessions

Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed – if I did, things would have been different + it'd still be on.

(X)

Laura ran down the street looking wildly behind her. How had she gotten hooked up with those other girls? She asked herself. Kelly and Gwen were nice enough on their own, but they were followers and they chose to follow Alexa. She had seemed so nice at first, but then she'd gotten on a magic kick. Soon she was power hungry. Laura had tried to convince the girls to use moderation in magic, but they were high on the rush and refused to listen. Laura should have known better, she chastised herself. Her mother had always said that magic wasn't a game. She just hoped that she could get home to her mother. Hopefully she'd have an answer.

Laura suddenly heard footsteps behind her, loud and deliberate. Her heart pounding, she looked behind her again. She stood still, panting, trying to catch her breath. She listened. Thump, thump, thump. The footsteps continued and she searched in desperation for the source. Nothing was in the alley but her, yet the footsteps continued. Suddenly they stopped. The silence was more oppressive than the footsteps had been. She still looked around the alley as she started walking again, slower this time. Paying careful attention to her surroundings, Laura gasped as the letters appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. On the brick wall of the building to her right, a large R. When the letters finished appearing they spelled one word: RUN!

Laura ran.

(X)

Wyatt cocked an inquisitive brow to Pace and waited for the explanation.

"Where do I start?" Pace mused. Deciding on a beginning, he gave it, "I'm from San Francisco. The whole family is, just not _this _San Francisco."

"You're time travelers?" Asked Chris, who'd had experience in such things.

"No. We're a magical family, Parker is a World Walker." At Chris' questioning look, he elaborated, "Parker can open portals and walk to other planes of existence. His power allows him to feel the difference in each reality. For instance, if he goes to a world where Elvis never died, he recognizes that. If Hitler had won the war, he'd realize that explained the differences. There are two major differences between your world and mine, the first is the most important: Good magic still flourishes here. The second reason is almost as important: My family doesn't exist in your world, or at least we didn't until Parker brought us here." He wiped his eyes tiredly. "My world is bleak and dark; crime rates are high, people are on edge. Demon's evil influences everyone. The non-magic community has no idea but they feel the effects just the same. My mother's sisters were dead and she feared for our lives. We all feared for our lives," He amended. "Parker found your world and convinced my folks that we should come here. Our world is doomed and we couldn't fight the evil there. We can add to the numbers of good here, though. We intend to."

"You left your home? To evil?" Wyatt asked, clearly aghast.

"If your fighting odds were four to forty thousand, you would have fled too," Pace defended his family grimly.

Wyatt nodded in agreement, a new respect for Pace coming into his eyes. "So is Bennett your real last name?"

Pace shook his head, "No, we took the name Bennett because the father of the Charmed Ones was known to be named Bennett. We figured we could use the protection of the name. We decided _not _to use Halliwell, no sense advertising our magical origins."

"Why didn't you just keep your names if you didn't already exist here?" Chris asked.

"My parents used to exist in your world, but died a long time ago. My par…dad took an entirely new name. We felt it would be easier if a dead man wasn't trying to get a job."

Wyatt nodded in understanding. "What about family or friends? Wouldn't they recognize your dad?" He asked.

"Of course; that's why mom put a glamour on him."

Chris had a sudden euphoric thought, he then squashed it down. 'Impossible' he told himself.

"So that's why you came with nothing, had no jobs set up, no cars, but plenty of money for a house?" Chris asked.

"Exactly; after Parker found this plane, we sold everything. We came through a portal and have been living in a hotel for a month." He gave the brothers an uneasy look, "We did do a spell to change identities and replace our old credit cards and such, but it's not technically personal gain." He said in a questioning tone.

"I don't think it was personal gain. You left a place where you couldn't fight to come to a place where you could but had to leave your identity behind." Chris soothed, "Hell, the Elders let my Aunt Paige win a lottery so she could buy a house next door to my mom." At Pace's amazed look, Chris explained, "Paige is a White-lighter/witch who has a husband and children. The Elders don't usually pay people to do the job, but they wanted Paige more focused on her charges than earning money. It's not like she hit a huge jackpot, just enough that she doesn't have to worry about gainful employment."

"Then I don't see why the Elders would object to our spell," Pace said happily.

"I don't think _anyone_ would object to your spell," Wyatt assured him. "So the Charmed Ones exist in your world?"

Pace shook his head sadly, "The Power of Three died a long time ago."

(X)

Aviva looked at her daughter, horrorstricken by what she'd just heard. "Laura, how could you get caught up in something like this?" She demanded of her daughter.

"I was just trying to make friends. They were so nice and we had a lot in common…I thought," she mumbled.

"Goddess knows, I was young, too, and made mistakes." She stopped abruptly. "Did I ever tell you about how I was tricked and possessed?" At her daughter's incredulous look, she continued, "Kali befriended me. She was imprisoned in a mirror, I never thought to question why." She looked disgusted by the ignorance of her younger self. "She taught me all about three sister witches, The Charmed Ones, she wanted me to join their coven. She hoped to use me to destroy these powerful witches. I'm happy she failed. If anyone can help you, the Halliwells can."

(X)

Wyatt thought for a moment, then spoke, "I know how careful you've been with your identity. I'd like your permission to tell my mom and the aunts. Maybe we can all house hunt for you and try to welcome you to your new world. See if we can't help your parents in their job searches…"

Pace shook his head, "I'm sorry. I know that you're trying to help, but I wasn't supposed to tell anyone. My mom would be very upset if she knew. Maybe in time, she'll make peace with the past, but until then…" He shrugged helplessly.

Please r/r

**NEW A/N all finished with this one too.**


	3. Gloom and Doom

Gloom and Doom

Gloom and Doom

Disclaimer: my mom doesn't own charmed. Or the original characters, or the actors she imagines playing any of the characters, even though that would be divine.

A/n: This is the authors' daughter typing this up. I type what I see and hold no responsibility for typo's, no matter what my mother says.

(X)

"Unbelievable! They're unlisted!" Aviva exclaimed. "Laura can you scry?" she asked her daughter. After her experience with Kali, Aviva had become Wiccan, but chose to stay away from spells. Kali had offered so many temptations', power, sisterhood. Aviva chose to limit her temptations, she'd proven that her craving for power was too strong for her to control.

Her daughter unfolded a map and got a scrying crystal out in answer.

"Try scrying for the Halliwells." Aviva suggested.

"I get a couple of hits, one in this whole area and one here." She pointed each out to her mother.

"This would be the manor. This one here is closer," Aviva mused quietly, "I read a while ago that Phoebe lived in this area, she'd moved out of the manor. We should head to this one." Aviva decided and then added, "Phoebe was the nicest to me. She even understood when I tried to burn Prue."

(X)

"What are you doing?" Chris asked Wyatt who was headed for the phone. "Pace said NOT to tell mom or the aunts."

"I'm not," Wyatt replied, "whether they want our help or not, they've got it. I'm calling Darryl."

Comprehension dawned on Chris' face.

Once Wyatt reached Darryl, he explained the situation- minus any reference to magic. He concluded with, "Any idea if you can pull some strings to get Drew hired?" Darryl's face on the phone monitor was thoughtful.

Darryl thought for a moment, "Don't think, Wyatt, that I don't know that there's something you're not telling me." He sighed, heavily, "I do know that we're short inspectors. I know I'm working alone now, again. If this guy has the resume he shouldn't have a problem. Many cops are working solo; the brass doesn't like it. Tell you what, send him to me first, let me talk to him. IF," Darryl stressed, "he's got the credentials and IF," he stressed again, "he impresses me, I'll see what I can do." In a very serious voice he continued, "Boys, it took me a long time to overcome my reputation – a reputation, by the way, that I earned by being too closely involved with your family. He'd better be good," Darryl cautioned. Darryl had even tried moving away to rid himself of his reputation for the 'freaky cases' but had returned to San Francisco after two years. He was homesick but had been too much of a tough guy to admit it. Instead, he had said that Sheila and their kids missed San Francisco too much.

"He is, Darryl," Wyatt promised. As he ended the call, the doorbell rang.

"Guess we'll have to call Drew later," Wyatt mumbled and walked to the door. He opened the door to two scared looking people; a dark haired teenaged girl and what was obviously her mother. He'd never seen either before in his life. "Can I help you?" He asked confusion plainly on his face.

"No, I don't think so," said the older woman, "We must have gotten the wrong place. I was looking for Phoebe." She turned to leave.

"Phoebe Halliwell?" Asked Chris who was standing beside Wyatt at the door.

Relief spread across the woman's face as she turned around to ask the brothers, "Yes, is she here?" She looked around hopefully.

"No," Wyatt shook his head in the negative, "She's our aunt but she doesn't live here. Was there a reason why you expected to find her here?"

"Sure, I scryed for the Halliwells and this was one of the spots the crystal dropped on."

"Laura!" Admonished her mother, shocked.

"They're witches, mama," she explained.

Wyatt quickly looked into the, thankfully, empty hallway and ushered the women inside. If they were demons about to attack, better they do so in the privacy of the loft than in the building's usually busy hall!

"Why didn't you go to the manor?" Chris asked once they were all seated.

The mother looked stricken for a moment, "I wasn't sure of my welcome," she answered softly.

"Why are you looking for Phoebe?" inquired Wyatt.

The teenager answered, "I got in with a bad crowd," she explained. "A couple of girls who shared my interest in Wicca…well, I thought we shared an interest," she amended, "Really they were only interested in magic."

Wyatt and Chris exchanged looks. They'd met people like that themselves. People who proudly proclaimed themselves witches or Wiccan who had no interest in the theology of the religion, it was all about the spells and magic. Thank the Gods; very few people had any real power! Even those without the long magical heritage of the Halliwells could cast, _if _they concentrated hard enough and believed in the spells. Most 'witches' could not break the laws of nature by using spells; for instance, most witches, no matter how hard they concentrated or how much faith they had in magic and themselves would NOT be able to freeze time. _That _kind of power was rare. Wyatt asked the girl, "What happened?"

She pushed the dark hair out of her eyes and sighed, "We'd been practicing spells for the last few months and nothing happened. We would've gotten bored eventually, but, three weeks ago a spell worked." She looked at her mother sadly. "The other girls got really hooked; spells all the time. They started small, changing grades and things like that. Then, Alexa cast a love spell and instead of just asking for the traits she desired, she named the boy, specifically."

Chris and Wyatt shook their heads. _That_ was a big magical no-no. No one had the right to interfere with free will.

Laura continued, "Alexa treated it like it was a game. When Owen started paying attention to her, giving her gifts, writing her poems…she laughed about it. I tried to explain how wrong it was but she just got angry with me and accused me of being jealous. Kelly and Gwen were caught up completely; I couldn't convince them how wrong it was either. I started making excuses for not hanging with them anymore. They got angry with me too. I tried to reverse Alexa's love spell, it didn't work. Somehow, they knew and now they're threatening me! They've changed all my grades, so that I'm failing, they've turned everyone at school against me. I was fired from my job, for no reason, and my boss had always liked me, before. They've gotten meaner. I can't sleep, because when I do, I dream about them. They fight with me in my dreams and when I wake up I have bruises and bite marks." She showed the brothers a particularly nasty looking blue-black bruise on her arm. "Last night, I couldn't control my car and I almost got into an accident." She started crying softly, "I don't know what to do."

"Binding potion," Chris answered promptly.

(X)

A few hours later, after Chris and Wyatt had cast protective spells over Laura and promised they would come up with a plan for binding her friends; Wyatt was finally able to call Drew. As he headed to the videophone, the doorbell rang again. 'Now what?' Wyatt thought as he opened the door.

Drew and his wife Priscilla were standing in his doorway. Chris and Wyatt had met them both last week, so, these visitors, at least, were known to Wyatt.

Priscilla spoke first, "Wyatt, we'd like to talk to you, please."

Wyatt invited them in. They certainly didn't seem old enough to be the parents of grown men, Wyatt mused. Suddenly he gasped, "You're _both _under a glamour!"

Priscilla gave an embarrassed start, "Yes," she admitted finally.

Wyatt laughed, "Don't worry about it, my mom and aunts don't look any older than 35 themselves!" Then, seeing that his levity hadn't lifted their moods, "We'll keep your secret," he vowed.

Priscilla waved her hand gracefully at that, as though shooing a fly, "We're not worried about _that_," she looked shamefaced at Wyatt, "We were very stupid."

Wyatt grasped her hand, lending her his strength. He did it instinctively, it felt natural and no one commented on it. Priscilla squeezed his hand in appreciation, squared her shoulders and lifted her stricken blue eyes to his face, "We may have doomed your world."

**Chris-** **Drew Fuller**

**Wyatt- Wes Ramsey**

**Priscilla – Tiffani Thiessen**

**Drew- Timothy Olyphant**

**Darryl – Dorian Gregory**

**Please r/r**

**New A/N all done with this one **


	4. Father and Source

Father and Source

Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed or any of the original characters

(X)

"We may have doomed your world."

Silence hung in the air; it was stifling and awkward.

Wyatt, still holding Priscilla's hand in comfort, now gazed into her clear blue eyes. He read the truth there. The poor woman really believed what she was saying.

"What do you mean?" Chris asked seriously, looking from Priscilla to her husband, Drew.

Priscilla drew a long shuddering breath and pulled her hand from Wyatt's with a grateful look. "We, unintentionally, brought someone with us. He's very powerful and very evil."

Wyatt felt leaden with dread and asked the question he feared to hear the answer to. "I'm evil in your world, aren't I?"

She gave him an incredulous look, "Of course not! Why would you ask such a thing?" She shared puzzled glances with her husband.

Wyatt and Chris both breathed sighs of relief. Evil and powerful? No problem, as long as that powerful evil was _not _Wyatt Halliwell.

"You were never born in our world," Drew said, still confused.

"See, Wy, it's not always about _you,"_ Chris teased, his relief obvious.

"Never born…how do you know so much about my family? You even know the name of my grandfather." Wyatt asked with some confusion of his own, ignoring Chris.

Priscilla answered simply, "The Charmed Ones were well known to our magical community." Then gave the brothers more detail than they perhaps would have liked, "Piper died when the Source sent Shax to kill the sisters. She died before she ever became a mother."

Chris felt devastated but reminded himself that they knew that the Charmed Ones didn't exist _anymore_ in Priscilla's home. He pulled himself together and redirected the conversation. "About this powerful evil you think you brought with you…" He opened.

"Oh, there's no think about it. We did. Palmer saw him." Drew confirmed.

"Where?" Wyatt and Chris asked simultaneously.

"Palmer had a premonition, he saw Phobos in the underworld, uniting the demons."

"Phobos? Isn't that Greek for 'fear'?" Chris asked.

"So we're dealing with a demon of fear, like Barabas?" Wyatt half-mused, not waiting for Chris' question to be answered.

"Yes, Phobos was named for the fear his father knew he would instill in the world. He had a wicked sense of humor for a demon; he loved his little name game and getting that last dig in," Priscilla said, inscrutably. The brothers could see for the first time the witch who once fought evil on the side of good. No longer did she look hunted, she looked more like the hunter, and they were glad she was on their side. "And," she continued, "He's nothing like Barabas. He is the Source of All Evil."

"Haven't Mom and the Aunts vanquished him a few times?" Chris asked Wyatt.

"The Source, twice," Wyatt answered.

"Maybe you don't understand," Priscilla said in frustration, "The Source _can't_ be vanquished. His essence goes into the person who vanquished him. He takes them over."

"That's what happened with Phoebe's first husband Cole, but The Charmed Ones still managed to vanquish him." Chris pointed out.

"His will to live must have been a bit stronger in my world," Priscilla bit out. "I came to warn you. He hates good magic but especially Halliwell magic."

"Why?" Wyatt asked, concern for his family etched plainly on his face.

"Because, even in my world, the Charmed Ones vanquished him. He always comes back and he brings his grudge with him." She warned, and then the shamed look again replaced the huntress, "I only hope you can forgive us, for giving him a way to your world."

Wyatt addressed the older couple carefully, "My mom always says magic has consequences," at their flinches, he continued in a kinder tone, "But, she also says that everything happens for a reason. Your world was obviously very one-sided. There was no balance there. Maybe, in order for you to be here, we all need to accept this new evil. Vanquish the unvanquishable and make sure that he doesn't come back. If it helps make the world you came from safer for the innocents…"

"It won't," Priscilla interjected, sadly. The brothers could see that she was angry; she couldn't protect the innocents in her world, had left with her family to, at least, try to protect _them_. They could see that she was torn in two, between duty as a witch and duty as a mother. "He left his father there to rule. He may not be the Source of All Evil, but he can't be killed and possibly has more power than his son."

"Maybe nothing can save your world. But we damn sure will save _this _one," Wyatt vowed, steel replacing the usual twinkle in his eyes.

**Cast List: **

**Wyatt – Wes Ramsey**

**Chris – Drew Fuller**

**Priscilla – Tiffani Thiessen**

**Drew – Timothy Olyphant**

NEW A/N All done. For anyone new to my series, I also have the cast list on my bio page but I warn you it's full of spoilers.


	5. Family Planning

Family Planning

Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed or any original characters – is it necessary to do this at the start of EVERY chapter?

(X)

Piper had the morning off. Melinda had late classes on Tuesdays and Piper liked spending some alone time with her daughter.

She frowned as she remembered earlier years and the mother/daughter bonding time she and Mel used to share. It usually included Mel arguing because she'd not been allowed to attend Magic School like her cousins and Piper explaining _again _why she'd made that choice.

Piper had long since come to terms with her heritage, although there had been a time when she absolutely hated being a witch. She wasn't gullible enough to believe that magic and demons were gone for good, but she'd wanted her children to grow up unbothered by the concept of fighting evil. She'd wanted them to have _normal _childhoods. Melinda had screamed and fought every inch of the way.

Piper looked at her daughter with pride in her eyes; Melinda was every inch a Halliwell. The dark brown hair, chocolate eyes, stubborn nature, the independent streak tempered by family love and loyalty, the petite body that was ready for a fight, and the great cheekbones. She was also uniquely herself, full of mischief, warmth, hotheaded, and very smart.

She knew that even with their more conventional childhood that her children would be just as ready and focused on the good fight and the protection of innocents as their cousins. After all, the Charmed Ones hadn't even known they were witches until they were in their twenties!

"Mom," Melinda said, "Psyche is a little concerned. Shouldn't the demons be busting out all over after being confined in the underworld for so long?" The look she gave her mother was full of confusion and slightly reminiscent of a boxer who was ready for the fight, but had won by default because the opponent never bothered to show.

Piper sighed, confused herself. She had spoken with her sisters about the same topic. None of the three understood why the demons were showing so much restraint. She placed her hand on her daughters shoulder and said in a grave tone, "Mel, we think that they will come…we _know _they will." She corrected herself. "The fact that they seem so unhurried is worrying. It means that they're making plans. You are _not _to mention this to your cousins _or _uncles," she gave Melinda a fierce, warning look, "but Phoebe and Paige took a trip to the underworld," she saw Melinda's astonished look and smirked despite herself, "What did you kids think that we were retired or something? Your aunts and I have fought the underworld for a long time…"

"You haven't fought _for _a long time!" Melinda interjected, strangely feeling that the roles had reversed. She didn't like the idea of her mom and aunts fighting, she wanted them safe. She realized that she was being given an appreciation of the way the three sisters felt, the worry for their family.

Piper cocked a brow at her daughter, understanding in her rich brown eyes, "Mel, it's like riding a bike, you never really forget how."

"But your reflexes are slower…"

"Watch it!" Piper warned, "As I was saying, your aunts went on a scouting expedition. We _are_ well aware that the demons aren't acting true to form. Paige orbed them down there and Pheebs used her empathy, trying to read what the demons were feeling." Piper's face got very serious, "What she felt was jubilance, expectation and a very powerful evil force." Her voice broke for a moment, "Phoebe collapsed and Paige orbed them both here."

"Why did Aunt Phoebe collapse?" Melinda asked, round-eyed with shock.

"Because she's never felt that much power, that much hatred…she did say it felt vaguely familiar but she couldn't place it," Piper mused, reminding herself to keep that tidbit in mind. "As an empath, even as powerful as she is; or maybe because she is as powerful as she is, she just couldn't handle that much evil. Paige said that just before Phoebe collapsed it almost seemed like she was channeling that evil, her eyes even turned black…" She bit her lip and gave her daughter a worried look, "When the demons are done planning whatever they're planning they will be attacking."

Melinda hugged her mother, "We'll be ready for them."

Piper hugged her daughter back and prayed that she was right.

(X)

In the loft of Piper's sons, the two Halliwell brothers were still trying to figure out how to help Aviva's daughter Laura. Chris lounged on the overstuffed leather sofa and Wyatt paced back and forth. The brothers bounced ideas off each other to come up with a plan.

Wyatt switched the topic unexpectedly, "Chris, I forgot to tell Drew what Darryl said last night when they were here."

"I think it's okay, Wyatt, that you were forgetful, considering that we learned that we have a new Source of all Evil to contend with," Chris said in his sarcastic tone. "Wyatt! You're a genius!" He suddenly exclaimed, jumping off the couch.

"I am?" Wyatt asked in confusion.

"Well, no," Chris deadpanned, "You're an air-headed blonde but your forgetting gave me an idea." Without bothering to explain, he headed to the videophone and called Priscilla and Drew.

Wyatt watched, hoping to figure out on his own what Chris was up to. He'd learned, to his frustration, that when Chris was in action he could be annoyingly close lipped and became so focused that he couldn't be bothered to explain his actions.

When Priscilla answered and her face appeared on the monitor Chris asked her to come and bring her husband back to the loft. She agreed, confused by his exuberance, and they disconnected.

(X)

Instead of going to school that day, Melinda called a special, emergency meeting with her female cousins. As they all gathered in the attic at the manor, Melinda explained.

She told her cousins about her conversation with her mother that morning. She felt a brief moment of guilt, her mother had forbidden her from telling her cousins, but she shrugged it off. She loved and respected Piper, but there was _no _way that she was going to stand idly by and let her mom and aunts get hurt. When she looked at the faces of her cousins she breathed a sigh of relief, she'd done the right thing. She saw varying looks of shock and anger on their faces.

Phoenix, as the eldest, quickly took charge. "We need to find out what we're up against."

Peyton agreed quickly, "We can't just wait for them to bring the fight to us when they're ready!"

Phoenix gave her sister an appraising and angry look. "Peyton, stay out of my feelings!"

Peyton shrugged innocently. Besides inheriting her mothers empathy she had received a power that was its opposite. She could 'push' her emotions onto others.

"Can't you control it yet?" Samantha asked her cousin, coolly. Her once dark brown hair had turned steadily black, so black that it looked blue, since her powers had come.

Her 'identical' twin, Victoria, frowned at Peyton. Her once brown hair had been getting quite red of late. "We can't have these strategic pow-wows if _you _influence everyone to your way of thinking," She pointed out angrily.

"Back off Wonder Twins," Psyche advised. Phoebe's middle daughter organized the group. "We need to focus on the problem at hand – the demon problem," she clarified, "None of us has complete control of our powers, we _all_ need to work on our powers. Now is not the time." She smiled at Henry Jr, who had just entered the attic.

"There is a lot of estrogen in this room!" he said in greeting, looking around. "Why wasn't I invited?" he quizzed the women. They looked at each other guiltily. "Because I don't have powers?" He asked softly, knowing the answer to his question.

"Yet!" Victoria amended.

"That we know of," Samantha added.

He gave his sisters a grateful look. "That being said I am still a Halliwell, well a Mitchell anyway." He gave the girls a smile, "I went to Magic School, grew up with the same stories as the rest of you. I can still help. Powers or not, I have a pretty good mind…"

Phoenix headed to her cousin and hugged him, "You're right. Even King Wyatt can't beat you at chess. We should have thought to add you." The cousins had taken to teasing Wyatt with his noble nickname once they'd learned of Excalibur and its relationship to Wyatt.

"So what's the situation?" He queried. Melinda quickly filled him in. "Who does what, power wise?" He asked thoughtfully. The women could almost hear his brain working. Once he had all the facts, he came up with the plan. "Melinda can you remote view to a place you've never been?"

"Yes, but that's when I focus on people. I'm not exactly friendly with the demony type…"

He looked at his sisters, "Sam, Vic, you two need to pull a mom. Take a look around, _quickly_. Hopefully Peyton can get the image from your minds and between the three of you, you can channel to Mel who can view at her leisure whenever she needs to; or whenever _we _need her to," he amended. "We'll find out what they're up to."

"What about us?" Phoenix asked archly. She was disgusted, again, with the limited powers that made her unable to help.

"You're going to teach the rest of us how to fight better and incorporate whatever edge we each have into the battles, General." H.J. smiled at his cousin. He turned to Psyche, "And you're going to help her."

**Cast list:**

**Piper- Holly Marie Combs**

**Melinda – Camilla Belle or Kimberly J Brown**

**Wyatt – Wes Ramsey**

**Chris – Drew Fuller**

**Priscilla – Tiffani Thiessen**

**Phoenix – Rachel Bilson**

**Peyton – Leighton Meester**

**Victoria/Samantha – Sophia Bush**

**Psyche – Nora Zehetner (Eden from Heroes)**

**Henry Jr – Penn Badgley **

**NEW A/N another one bites the dust!**


	6. The Plan

The Plan

Disclaimer: we all know I own nothing, right?

(X)

Chris led Priscilla and Drew into the loft. Wyatt was sitting on the couch; he waved at them as they entered.

"Wyatt, do you know what Chris asked us here for?" Drew asked the elder Halliwell brother.

"Nope, Chris doesn't always share well with others," came Wyatt's reply.

"I just hate explaining myself twice," Chris defended. "But now that we're all here…" Chris quickly explained Laura's problem to the couple, finishing with… "I know you can glamour, Priscilla. My mom and aunts are busy; I don't want to add to their burdens, could you help?"

"Pose as a teenager and gain their confidence?" She asked, catching on quickly to Chris' plan.

"Yeah," he answered.

"It would be easier to pose as Laura," she mused.

"How will you get them to drink the binding potion?" Wyatt asked.

"I have a few tricks up my sleeve," she assured the brothers with a glint of amusement sparkling in her eyes.

(X)

'Vic, let's hurry up, I don't like it here,' Samantha told her twin telepathically.

'Neither do I, but we need a good enough look to remember the details,' was Victoria's soundless reply.

Suddenly a demon rounded the corner, he looked like a typical topside 'bad boy', normally one of the twins would have been interested in his gorgeously dangerous looks, but seeing as the only 'bad boys' in the underworld were demonic…

"Hey! What are you two doing here?" He shouted.

"Quick, take my hand, Vic!" Samantha panicked an icy feeling in her veins.

Before the sisters could join hands, enabling them to orb to safety, the demon shot a fireball at Victoria.

She saw it coming at her. The flare of fire made her eyes glint eerily red. Instinctively she put her arm up using her hand to protect herself. What happened next astonished all three.

Victoria caught the fireball! Setting her shock aside, she wound up and threw it straight back at the demon, who shimmered away just in time, leaving the twins alone again in the underworld. Victoria had learned recently that she was pyrokinetic. But having her own 'firepower' was a much different thing than having a demonic fireball thrown at her!

"Vic?" asked her sister hesitantly.

"It didn't even burn," Victoria wondered. Samantha grabbed her hand and the two disappeared in a cyclone of blue orb lights.

(X)

"Well, I finally got to tell Drew about Darryl," Wyatt began, "You, though, Chris, you _are _a genius!" He complimented his brother. "You know that Mom or the Aunts would have helped us..."

"But, I wanted Priscilla to feel needed; to start fighting again." Chris polished his fingernails on his lapel and gave his brother an 'aw shucks' look.

"I think that's just what she needs to fit in," Wyatt said, "How _weird_ is it that I don't think that's weird at all?"

Chris just rolled his eyes in answer.

(X)

In the attic, Henry Jr paced, angry with himself. "It was a dangerous plan, I never should have told them to go." He berated himself aloud. He gave a sigh of relief when he saw the familiar orbs. He just hoped it was his sisters and not his mother!

The twins were revealed when the shiny lights disappeared. Samantha was staring at her sister in concern. All in the attic were instantly worried that she'd been hurt.

Victoria, noticing their worried faces reassured them in a distracted tone. "We're fine. We had a run in with our first demon but he shimmered before we could vanquish him."

"And Vic caught his fireball and threw it back at him!" Samantha screeched.

"You caught a fireball?" Phoenix asked her cousin.

"And threw it back at him!" Samantha shrieked again.

"Are you hurt?" Henry asked his sister, who shook her head negatively in answer, "We'll figure it all out later," he promised the room, "But now we have to find out if the mission was a success."

Nix looked at her cousins and sister, "Sam, Vic, Mel and Peyton join hands. Sam and Vic, you concentrate on where you were. Pey, try to pick up on it and the three of you should focus on sending it to Mel," she ordered. "Repeat after me,

South and North send the image forth,

East and West to the one who can use it best."

The girls did as instructed.

H.J. gave Psyche a curious look.

She answered quietly, so as not to interrupt the chant, "Did you really think Phoenix wouldn't be able to come up with a simple spell?"

Melinda saw only the dark blackness of her closed eye-lids. She was about to give up when blurrily a picture began to form. It cleared and crystallized in her mind. She took it all in. The darkness, she could almost feel the heat, the catacomb maze that was the underworld, home to demon-kind. She tried 'walking' through it.

Suddenly, Peyton stiffened beside her. Melinda dimly noticed, as stuck in the vision as she was. Samantha and Victoria had stopped chanting, realizing that something was wrong with their baby cousin. Nix and Psyche hurried to their sister.

Melinda saw sudden blackness. No, more than blackness, she saw the nothingness that is the soul of evil. Even without the power of premonitions, Melinda _knew _that this was more than an ordinary evil.

"Pey? Come on honey, snap out of it," Psyche pleaded. She tried to arouse her sister but she remained stiff and unyielding. Suddenly, Peyton's body arched painfully and she let out a soul shattering scream that, finally, knocked Melinda out of her vision.

In quick comprehension, Melinda pushed everyone away, "Stay away from her!" She warned.

Peyton continued to scream until her screams stopped as abruptly as they'd started. Her eyes snapped open, her usual brown eyes had turned a deadly black. She looked mechanically about the room. She cocked her head to the side as if sizing up her situation, her surroundings.

Peyton's mouth opened, but another voice issued forth, "Spying on me?" came the amused voice of a man, "Children of the Charmed Ones, you just can't wait for the fight, is that it?" the voice issuing from Peyton's throat mocked. "Fight then, defend yourselves against this…" Peyton's body threw an energy blast at the encircled cousins, who jumped out of the way just in time. "How are you going to explain to your mommies that you had to kill poor little….Peyton?" She cocked her head to the side again, as though searching for the answer in her own head, "Oh, yes, Peyton, daughter of….Phoebe," the eerie voice continued in an even more hate-filled tone. Peyton threw another negative energy blast towards her family, winging her sister Psyche in the process.

Psyche took refuge behind the old sofa, she cradled her injured arm as well as she could. Her eyes met Phoenix's in silent entreaty. Her big sister had always been able to handle anything.

Phoenix saw the pain on Psyches face as well as the wound that marred her shoulder. Psyches once white shirt was now red with Psyche's blood. Phoenix felt panic and willed it away; she never allowed herself panic!

"Get the hell out of my baby!" Phoebe screamed at the possessing voice, before the orbs had even settled to reveal herself and Paige.

Coop beat in simultaneously, rushing to his daughter; he grabbed her, holding her arms to her side to prevent any more energy blasts. His large, powerful body stiffened. As a Cupid, he felt physical pain being so near a being this filled with hate. He fought to hold her while fighting to keep the hate from entering his own soul. His muscles strained with the effort. His already dark brown eyes darkened perceptibly, he leaned into his daughter's ear, his voice thick with the hatred he tried to resist, "Fight it, baby. Hate doesn't belong in you."

Phoebe wrapped her arms around her daughter and husband, trying to help him. Trying to focus on his love for his family and channeling it to Peyton. At first, Phoebe felt the overwhelming darkness and hatred and…pain.

Paige gave each of her children and nieces an angry glare. Noting Psyche's shoulder she rushed to her side to heal her.

The darkness started to leave Coop's eyes and he continued to hold his baby. Whispering softly and comfortingly about his great love for her, her sisters' love for her and her mother's love…he felt the dark energy leave her body as she collapsed into his muscular arms. He carried her to the sofa and laid her gently upon it.

"What the hell is going on!" Phoebe yelled. When no one answered, she whipped out her cell phone. "Paige, go get Leo, Wyatt and Chris." Paige immediately orbed. Phoebe looked at the room threateningly, "_I'm_ calling Piper!" The stricken looks on the faces of the younger generation grew even more stricken at _this _threat. Pissing off Piper was _never _a good idea!

(X)

At Angel's, the restaurant Piper owned, Piper felt her cell phone vibrate and answered Phoebe's call. She felt sudden dread as the words she'd once been used to came over the airwaves.

"We have a family emergency!" Phoebe's voice told her.

(X)

NEW A/N done again. I did add a little bit to the fight, but not much.


	7. Secrets

Secrets

Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed or its characters.

(X)

The very large extended family of the Charmed Ones was gathered in the living room. The younger generation was decidedly on edge as they waited for Piper to arrive at the manor.

Phoebe's daughters, Phoenix, Psyche and Peyton sat together. The elder sisters sat protectively on either side of the younger.

Melinda paced worriedly.

Henry Jr and his sisters Sam and Vic exchanged glum looks. Henry was feeling, perhaps, guiltiest of all, because the plan had been his.

Paige had left to get Leo and his sons, Wyatt and Chris.

The 'kids' weren't the only ones suffering, Phoebe and her husband, Coop, were agonized by the condition in which they'd found their sixteen year old daughter. The ordeal they'd just been through had been terrifying. Now the terror had subsided and anger had set in. Phoebe couldn't bring herself to look at her daughters, she wanted to keep her anger and the way the three sat, protecting each other reminded her so sharply of herself, Piper and Prue and then, when Prue was gone, Paige that she didn't want that tenderness to influence her anger.

Piper entered the almost silent manor, calling out, "I'm home!"

She'd rushed home as soon as she'd heard Phoebe's cryptic words. 'Family emergency' was the once familiar code for demon fighting. Phoebe had refused to be more explicit on the phone, so Piper had no idea what she was coming home to.

She turned into the living room and was slightly taken aback by the size of the group gathered there. As she came in, Paige arrived, bringing Leo and sons into the almost overcrowded room.

"How bad is it?" Leo inquired.

At the same time, Piper said, "Who's going to tell me what happened?" hands on her hips, eyebrow arched, she took in the guilty faces of her nieces, nephew and daughter, the overwhelmed looks on her sisters' faces and the confused looks of her sons and husband.

Melinda looked at her mother, color suffused her face as she started, "I told them about Aunt Phoebe and Aunt Paige going to the Underworld…"

"You went to the Underworld?" Coop interrupted, turning amazed eyes to his wife.

"Yes; Aunt Paige had to carry her home!" Psyche answered.

Samantha and Victoria, Paige's twins shared the telepathy of most twins, there's, however, was enhanced by magic. The sisters joined hands and orbed out of the room.

"You two get back here!" Paige yelled threateningly.

"What is going on!" Piper yelled, out of patience. She wasn't a patient woman when it came to magic, demons or threats to her family.

"Mel called us all together…" Phoenix said.

Shooting a look of anger at her daughter, Piper snapped, "Yeah, I got that part."

Just then Samantha and Victoria orbed back in with their father Henry. The twins looked vaguely triumphant, their father confused.

"Henry? What are you doing here?" Paige squeaked.

"I have no clue, the girls said I needed to come and they took me before I could ask." He frowned at his daughters. He turned his frown to his wife, "Looks like the whole family is here. Why shouldn't I be?" He asked her archly, feeling, correctly, that she didn't want him there. The only times when she didn't want him around was when it involved magic or herself trying to keep a secret she knew would displease him. He had an idea which instance this was.

"Our wives apparently took a trip to the Underworld," Coop informed his brother-in-law, shooting his own wife a look of ire and confirming Henry Sr's suspicion.

"It's what we do," Phoebe defended herself and Paige.

"But shouldn't you tell daddy if something bad happens?" Peyton asked innocently. She hated ratting out her mom and aunt, but if the 'kids' were in trouble with the elders than the wives should get what they deserved from their spouses. Plus, she didn't need to be an empath to know that she and her sisters and cousins all agreed on this point, and, as the victim of a brutal attack, she was least likely to be yelled at for stating their collective opinion.

"Bad?" Leo asked, "Piper you never mentioned anything."

"Would you men reel in the testosterone, please!" Piper advised warningly. She pointed at the younger group, "They are obviously in the wrong for something. I'd like to get to the bottom of _that_ first! _Before_ they complete their mission of divide and conquer."

After the unknowing were filled in on the events, amid much accusation and raised voices, a pall came over the room. The 'kids' had started the story from the beginning sharing the entire truth with their fathers, much to the chagrin of their mothers. The events were sinking in for those who'd been a part of it. It was easier for the ones who hadn't to process so they all reached the same level of dread at the same time.

"Melinda, I told you about your aunts in confidence," Piper sighed.

"I'm sorry, mom. I am," she affirmed, pleading for understanding plain on her pretty face. "But, I think everyone deserved to know what happened…what we're _all_ up against."

"Your reasons were sound, but to come up with a foolhardy plan…" Leo shook his head in disappointment. "You all meant well, but when you decided that Peyton should channel the scene and transfer it to Mel had anyone taken into account the fact that her mother, who has the same powers, had such a bad reaction, herself?"

The stricken looks were answer enough.

Leo continued, in ex-White-lighter mode, "I understand the need to protect family. But you all need to realize that your powers are untried and rash, hotheaded plans are not going to work."

It was almost worse for the 'kids' when Leo admonished them. Piper, while they loved her dearly, was definitely the disciplinarian in their matriarchal family. Disappointing Leo was a devastating experience that none wanted to repeat.

Henry added his thoughts, "I'm not magical. But I do love everyone here. I don't want to see anyone hurt. I understand the frustration of not being able to help enough, of needing to do more. Leo's right. You kids were rash and didn't think things through enough. You're inexperienced. You went off half-cocked with almost disastrous consequences. And you three," He directed at his wife and her sisters, "Need to be more forthcoming with your information. You are the Charmed Ones, we know. We respect that. _But,_" he stressed, "You can't keep your family in the dark. We all need to know what we're up against. You can't protect us from it. In fact, by trying to protect the kids, you unintentionally set them up to act stupid." He glared at his daughters, "Going to the Underworld, _was _stupid."

"Don't you blame this on me!" Piper cried instantly on the defensive. She took a deep breath and continued in a softer tone, "I understand what you're saying. I can even agree that we should have known that _our _children," she indicated her sisters and herself, "Would want to know everything, be in on everything. That still doesn't excuse what happened."

In a soft voice, H.J. reminded his father that the plan had been his.

Chris tried to bolster his younger male cousin, "The plan wasn't bad," when he saw that the elders were going to disagree he held up a hand to forestall them. "No, hear me out. The plan wasn't flawed. It's what I would've done if I'd been a part of it. It's what I would've had them do if they were _my _charges."

The sisters winced at this, remembering just what Chris forced them to do when he was their White-lighter. His vigorous and tunnel-visioned enthusiasm for wiping out the Underworld and his plan for the Charmed Ones to be more offensive than defensive had caused a lot of exasperation and they'd resented him, until they learned he was related to them, of course!

"What was flawed, was the fact that no one took inexperience into consideration. How were they supposed to know that Peyton would have a reaction like Phoebe's? She didn't go to the underworld, she only took in the scene from Vic and Sam..." He defended his younger cousins' and baby sister's actions.

"What exactly did happen?" Wyatt asked his youngest cousin. They knew what had happened, but not the specifics of her struggle.

"Well, I have a power my mom doesn't," she said, trying to figure it all out in her head, "When I felt 'him' I felt anger, hatred and a helluva lotta power. But then dad was there and mom. 'He' sent me so much negative energy I couldn't stand it, but my parents were giving me good stuff: love, concern. I figured if I couldn't handle 'his' hate, then maybe 'he' couldn't handle my love. I started to _send_ to 'him', it weakened his grip, so that I could sense everyone's love and concern, when I hit 'him' with all of that…he was gone."

"So who is this demon?" Piper asked then glared at Chris and Wyatt when she noticed the guilty look on _their _faces. Figures, the two who thus far weren't in any trouble had secrets of their own!

"The Source of all Evil," said the brothers simultaneously.

a/n Please r/r

NEW A/N Done!


	8. Tempers and Triggers

Tempers and Triggers

Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed yada yada, I do own my original characters along with storylines, as well as a messy house full of laundry I can't carry and an amazing amount of noise ; )

A/N sorry for the longish delay- I started physical therapy last week and backslid (no pun intended) and really couldn't sit at the computer, and writing by hand in a notebook while on pain pills... not too easy for my daughter to read my cryptic rambling scribbles to type it all up for me. Fortunately enough I was able to come up with some more story lines for my season….hope it was worth the wait, and doesn't appear too drug induced :0

Also many thanks to those who were kind enough to review, I got nothing but love for you people. Hugs all around.

And now on with the story…..

(X)

"What?!"

The entire family room of the Halliwell manor was suddenly full of shouts of denial and voices demanding more information.

Piper raised a hand to still the voices. Slowly the din died down and she turned to her sons.

"The. Source. Of. All. Evil?" She asked archly enunciating every word and making an entire sentence of each. She continued calmly, "Can you explain to me how you know that he's back, when you found out…"

"And why you didn't tell us?" Paige demanded stepping in between the brothers and using both hands to smack each upside their heads.

"Ow!" Wyatt said, rubbing his head. He semi-glared at his aunt. He would have full out glared but his mom had taught him better. "Look, everyone needs to calm down," he started.

"Wyatt, we just had a long discussion about withholding valuable information…" his mother interrupted.

"People, let's focus!" Chris shouted to the room at large to get everyone's attention. The commanding presence of his other life demanded they listen. Even the Charmed Ones fell silent. They hadn't listened to their White-lighter from the future as readily as they listened to the re-born version, ironically, they would not have listened so readily if he didn't so resemble his counterpart at the moment. "Wyatt and I just found out today," he looked at the elder sisters, "I can _not_ tell you how we found out." When he saw that his mother was going to interrupt and demand an explanation, he continued, "_Some _information can't be shared," then to further explain, "There are innocents involved. _My and Wyatt's_ innocents." He stressed. "It's enough that we know that The Source has resurfaced. You're all right; we should have brought this to everyone's attention. We weren't trying to withhold information; we were trying to process it." He defended the actions of the eldest of the Halliwell second generation.

"The processing has been somewhat delayed due to another innocent," Wyatt continued.

"Two innocents?" Mel questioned in a 'that's unfair' tone.

"This one happened to be looking for you," Wyatt turned to his aunt, Phoebe.

"Me?" She questioned, surprised.

"Aviva brought her daughter to us, said she knew you…back when…" the family tried not to discuss the still painful subject of the oldest sister, Prue's, death. "Laura seems to have gotten in with a bunch of Wicca-wannabes who are causing a lot of problems."

"Aviva?" Piper asked incredulously. A dark look quickly passed on her face, not so quickly, however, that her sons didn't notice and immediately understand why Aviva had chosen _not _to go to the manor.

"Aviva?" Paige echoed in a puzzled voice, obviously trying to remember that particular innocent.

"She was…before your time," Phoebe whispered to her youngest sister. She turned to her nephews, "Is there anything I can do to help?" She asked, clearly thrilled at the prospect of an innocent after so many years. But, then Phoebe had been the one sister who had most enjoyed being a witch and, almost, never resented the responsibilities, difficulties and heartache that went along with the magic.

Wyatt shook his head in the negative, "No, it's just a simple binding potion, we can handle this one," he gave his aunt a smile.

"What about the other innocent?" Piper asked archly.

"We can't tell you," Wyatt again shook his head negatively, this time for emphasis, "yet," he added trying to appease his tenacious mother.

"The Source has something to do with your innocent?" Piper continued, determination gleaming in her eyes.

"Yes," Chris confirmed, "But not enough that _you _need the details." The finality of the statement prevented any further interference…from the older adults at least.

"I thought mom vanquished the last Source when he went to different reality," Victoria stated.

"How can he be back?" Her twin, Samantha inquired.

"You don't vanquish the Source, you vanquish the vessel that hosts the Source," Chris explained.

"Usually the new 'vessel' is the one who vanquished the former," Phoebe interjected quietly, remembering one such vessel sadly.

"So mom is…?" H.J. asked hesitantly.

"Oh, please!" Paige piped up, "Do I _look _like the Source of All Evil?"

"Paige vanquished him when he didn't have the power of the Source," Piper cleared the confusion, "So…what? His essence was hanging around in the ether waiting for a new vessel?"

Her sons shrugged in turn, neither wanting to admit that their 'innocent' had brought the Source with them from, yet another, alternate reality. They might not have been twins or shared the telepathy of some of their cousins, but in this matter, the brothers were completely in tune with each other. Piper's reasoning was sound enough, no reason to disabuse her of the notion or to inform her otherwise.

"So we'll come up with a potion… and spell… and power strong enough to vanquish the essence this time," Piper vowed.

"I'm still curious about what happened here earlier," Wyatt admitted. "For instance, Uncle Coop, Aunt Phoebe and Aunt Paige showing up at the same time, just when they were needed…."

Coop answered his nephew, "Phoebe is an empath, and she's always had a strong link to her family. That link has gotten much stronger since magic returned. She almost instantly sensed that Peyton was in danger and had Paige orb her here. I'm," he shook his head self-deprecatingly, "_not _an empath, but I do have a strong bond with your aunt. I didn't know what panicked her so badly; I only knew where I had to go to be with her." He smiled at his wife, his earlier disgruntlement at not knowing about her misadventure in the underworld apparently forgiven and forgotten. She smiled broadly back.

"Lucky for you," Chris mumbled to his youngest cousin who only shook her head in agreement. Her older sisters hugged her to them, wordlessly echoing the sentiment.

"What was up with catching the fireball?" Wyatt asked next, inspecting Victoria's unblemished hand.

"And lobbing it back?" Chris grinned and then started humming 'take me out to the ballgame'.

Paige looked vaguely upset that she hadn't paid more attention to _that _part of the story. Phoebe took Paige's hand and leaned into her sister's ear to reassure her, "Don't feel bad, Sweetie, it's been a day full of surprises." Paige gave Phoebe a look of gratitude and squeezed her hand in thanks.

"I don't know," Victoria was saying. "I kind of just threw my hand up to block it."

Wyatt shook his head teasingly and tsked, "After all the baseball Chris and I played with you so that you could make the varsity team and you revert to acting like a _girl?_"

She shot her cousin a look of ire, "It _was _a fireball, your Highness, not a baseball." She got in her own little dig. It embarrassed her oldest cousin to no end that he was Excalibur's heir.

Deciding to ignore her taunt, Wyatt stated the obvious, "We have got to find a safe place to practice our new powers, and figure out how they work."

"You need to find your triggers," Phoebe confirmed.

Piper shot Leo a look of remembrance. She'd once had to discover, on her own, that his trigger was love.

"I know where you can practice," Leo told his family.

A/N Sorry if it seemed disjointed, I just have a problem with loose ends, plus I'm a bit out of practice now… Please r/r. Thanks for continuing to read.

NEW A/N Done


	9. Books and Bindings

Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed

(X)

Darryl Morris stood and shook hands with the man across from him; he indicated the chair in front of his desk with one hand while sitting in his own chair. "Wyatt gave me a copy of your record. I have to admit that I am impressed." He shook his head as if surprised by this. He gave the dark haired man a look of close scrutiny, "Have we met?"

Drew Bennett smiled, "I don't think so." His smile faded, "So, do you think you can help me cut through some of the red tape?"

"I should be able to. I can take these," he indicated Drew's resume and records, "To my Captain. I checked with your old department and they really liked you, you got glowing recommendations."

Drew breathed a deep internal sigh of relief; _that_ was the one part of the spell he'd been most worried about. He still didn't understand how a background check could be performed on someone who didn't exist but Priscilla had guaranteed him that it could. That every person who would be asked about him would give a glowing testimony to his hard work, dedication and great case closure rate and then promptly forget that they'd just recommended a man they'd never even met. He almost felt guilty, but his family had reminded him that the records, at least, were accurate.

"I just don't understand why you didn't put in for a transfer?" Darryl's questions broke through Drew's musings.

Drew's face grew serious, "Family emergency," he shrugged, "it was unexpected, and we had to come on short notice."

Darryl stood, ending the quasi interview with, "I'm going to talk to the Captain right away, hopefully, I'll be able to give you a call later today."

As he shook hands with Darryl again, Drew said, "I look forward to working with you."

Darryl had immediately liked Drew Bennett, he'd had that rare feeling, the one that let you feel instantly like you were with an old friend even though you had just met, but he felt a moment of vague indecision, "How did you say you knew Wyatt Halliwell?"

"One of my sons works for the brothers at P3," Drew answered. "Another is a busboy at Angel's."

Satisfied, Darryl nodded and the meeting was over.

(X)

The Halliwell manor was relatively quiet. Phoebe and her family had returned home, across the street, Paige and her's to their house next door and Leo had offered Wyatt and Chris a ride back to their loft.

Since Leo still hadn't returned, only 'his girls' were home. Melinda cast apprehensive glances at her mother, who finally sighed.

"Mel, would you stop looking at me like I'm about to vanquish you, please. It's giving me a headache." Piper snapped a bit peevishly.

"I'm just wondering how mad at me you are?" Melinda asked quietly.

Piper looked at her daughter and love flooded through her. She understood why Mel, and the others, had done what they did. She sighed again, this time in resignation, "I'm not angry anymore. I'm just worried. Very worried," she clarified. "Your aunts and I thought it was bad, but if The Source is involved….it's a whole new level of bad."

"What do you think of daddy's suggestion?"

"Turning Magic School into the magic-man's 'danger room'?" Piper referred to the old X-Men's holograph filled room in Professor Xavier's mansion where his group of super heroes trained. She mused for a moment, then spoke slowly, "I think it's a good idea. You all need a lot more practice away from the threat of exposing yourselves magically- which is the last thing we need to worry about adding to our troubles right now- you need to learn, quickly, how to work together and separately and, hopefully, learn a little wisdom and restraint." She looked hard at her daughter, "I DO NOT like the idea of any of you fighting," she squared her shoulders and continued in her no-nonsense way, "but, I realize that you'll have to be prepared. 'With extraordinary gifts come extraordinary responsibilities'."

Mel grinned at her mom, "What's with all the super hero references?"

Piper grinned back, "I guess that's how I feel about everyone being involved."

"Well, I guess I'll leave 'Magic League Headquarters' to go to 'Teen Titan Tower' and check on Peyton," Melinda laughingly rejoined.

"While you're over there, ask your aunt which days she wants instructor duty," Piper requested.

"'Instructor duty'?" Mel echoed bewildered.

"Well, you didn't think we'd have you train yourselves did you?" Piper tsked.

Melinda inwardly groaned.

(X)

A/N sorry if I got too cheesy but after all the family drama I wanted to lighten the mood.

(X)

Laura boldly faced her tormentors. She hid the boldness behind a mask of regret. "I'm sorry that I acted so lame. I guess I just got scared of all the power." She smiled at each girl, hopefully, asking for forgiveness.

Alexa strode across her bedroom and stood directly in front of Laura, she stared the other girl in the eye, looking for duplicity. Satisfied when she found none, she magnanimously said, "We knew you'd come crawling back." She played to her audience. Kelly and Gwen watched, rapt, amused by the benevolence, and bitchiness, of their 'queen'. "I'm not so sure that we should just allow you back into the coven," she tsked, greatly enjoying herself. "I mean, you turned traitor once, how do we know you won't do it again?" She looked at the other two girls, "We should make her prove herself to us, don't you think?" She raised a brow and gave a little half smirk as if doubting that the girl before them would ever be able to prove her worth.

Kelly and Gwen nodded mutely, smiling as maliciously as Alexa.

"Prove myself, how?" Laura asked quickly, eager to belong once more.

Alexa had been anticipating the moment, "We're bored with the spell books we have, and we want more. More spells, more power. We want summoning spells. You're going to find them for us. We want a book with power and substance, good books are so hard to find…" She knew the task she'd set for Laura was all but impossible. The only spell books they'd found thus far were stocked at Borders and Barnes and Noble. What she wanted, _expected_ was true magic, old magic, the kind of books that have all been banned or burned.

Laura smiled, unfazed, she'd expected just such a development. She leaned down and rifled through her backpack for a moment. When she brought her hands out of the bag's confines, she withdrew a large book, obviously old, the title-less book was adorned only with a triquetra on its faded sepia toned cover. "A book like this?"

The other three girls forgot to act unimpressed and gasped audibly. Closing in around the book they didn't notice as Laura withdrew three potion vials from her backpack.

"Where did you find this?" Breathed Gwen, who was obviously impressed.

This drew Alexa out of her rapt attention on the book; she paused long enough to shoot a dark, dangerous look at Gwen, silently reprimanding her for her defection. In an icy voice she repeated Gwen's question, "Yes, where did you find this book?"

"It's been in my family for generations," replied Laura blithely. "My mom just confessed that she's a witch, has been for years. She really reamed me out for being a disgrace to my coven and made these as a peace offering," she showed the vials to the girls. She opened the book carefully to a power enhancement spell, pointing it out to the other girls, "She brewed it herself and said that this was a good way to say 'I'm sorry' and 'thank you for forgiving me'."

"Well, I guess, it's a start," Alexa replied slowly.

Gwen and Kelly however, had already pulled the stoppers from the vials and drank deeply. Instinctively, Alexa rounded on them. "We don't know that this is what she says it is!" Angrily she pulled the stopper from her own vial, "You're both idiots." She deliberately poured the potion out of the bottle and grinned as it pooled on her wooden floor. Reaching for the book, she said, "I'll brew my own." Then gasped in shock as the book she'd been reaching for lunged itself out of her hands. She turned rounded eyes to Laura, who wasn't Laura any longer. She stared silently at the icy blue eyes of the older brunette in front of her.

"The book doesn't like to be touched by bad people," the older woman stated. "So, you won't be brewing your own. I think the potion I made for you ought to be good enough," she mocked, much better at detached bitchiness than the younger girl. With that she flicked her wrist and the potion unpooled from the floor and entered Alexa's mouth. Alexa swallowed in reflex.

"What was that?" Alexa asked fearfully.

"A binding potion," the older witch said furiously, she narrowed her blue eyes at each of the three, "Do not play with things that you do not understand!" She warned threateningly, "There are things out there even scarier than me," she promised the teens. She flicked her wrist again and the book flew into her hands, she put it back into the backpack and left the room, triumphant, certain that Laura wouldn't be bothered by these three anymore.

(X)

A/N I think one more chapter and this one's all done, please r/r

NEW A/N Ditto


	10. Parties and Surprises

Parties and Surprises

Disclaimer: Nope, still not lucky enough to own Charmed, but I got dibs on Victor Webster!

(X)

Phoenix eagerly eyed P3. Finally her twenty-first birthday had arrived. She knew her parents had a family bash planned, but THIS was the party she'd waited for. She wasn't one to be impressed by drunkenness; rather she was more excited about the prospect of being a full-fledged adult with no restrictions placed on her. Phoenix hated being restricted. Being, finally, allowed inside P3 represented her new freedom. Besides, after the day she'd had maybe a cocktail _was _in order!

Characteristically, she shared tonight's celebration with a few of her college classmates. She'd been asked by multiple men for a date, but preferred to celebrate with her friends. She dated, rarely, but was always disappointed by the overzealousness of the male species.

She entered the club.

"SURPRISE!"

Phoenix looked around, everyone was at P3. Her parents, aunts, uncles, sisters, cousins…everyone grinned goofily.

Phoebe enveloped her daughter in a hug, her grin wide and toothy. "Happy birthday, Ladybug!"

She hugged her mother back, "Thanks, mom."

Once Phoenix wasn't surrounded by well-wishers, Chris walked towards his cousin. Kissing her cheek, he said, "Happy birthday!" Then he leaned into her ear, "P3 is closed for a private party for a few hours, but we open like regular at midnight." He assured her.

She grinned at her cousin. She didn't care if P3 never opened for the public, all her favorite people were right here, right now.

(X)

Priscilla tried to get inside P3, but the bouncer wasn't letting her in. Wyatt caught the situation however, and hurried over. "It's okay, she can come in," he told the muscular man.

When they were out of earshot, Wyatt asked, "How did it go?"

Priscilla smiled, "I don't think Laura will be having anymore problems. In case you would have forgotten, I reversed the spells the girls cast."

Wyatt looked dumbfounded, he had, in fact, forgotten. He grinned winningly and kissed Priscilla's cheek, "You're a lifesaver!" and continued sheepishly, "I did forget."

She laughed indulgently, "Don't worry; you'll get the hang of it."

(X)

"Happy birthday," Pace greeted Nix.

"Thanks," she replied, mischief sparked in her eyes, "Now, I can get in whenever I want," she winked at Pace.

He gave an embarrassed cough. When she'd tried to come in the week before, he'd given her a hard time because she was underage; he also hadn't known she was related to his boss!

"I didn't know you'd be allowed in. I don't run the place, I just work here," he defended himself with a smile.

"Relax, barkeep, I'm teasing you." She assured the man. How odd, she thought to herself, she finally meets a man who isn't instantly smitten and she's not attracted to him because of his aloofness, a trait she imagined to be infinitely attractive. Even odder was the fact that Pace was indeed attractive; dark blonde hair, blue eyes, tall, strong looking, with a winning smile and cute dimples. 'Nope, no spark,' thought Nix with some amusement. Oh well, as the daughter of a cupid, she was sure to find love!

(X)

Priscilla looked around uncomfortably, "Looks like I crashed a private party. I should be going."

Wyatt hurried to reassure her; he liked this older woman immeasurably. "It's just a birthday party for my cousin Nix, Phoenix," he corrected himself, "Besides, I'd really like for you to meet my mom and aunts."

Looking amazingly horrorstruck, Priscilla began furiously trying to make up excuses, "No, really, Wyatt, this is a family gathering…"

"We're not very big on formality in this family," Piper joined the couple, "Besides, I thought I heard Wyatt saying he'd like to introduce us." She smiled brightly at Priscilla, noting the woman's extreme nervousness, "I'm Piper, Wyatt's mom."

Priscilla shook hands with Piper, "I'm Priscilla, Pace's mom," she indicated the bartender.

"Oh, then you're Palmer's mother too!" Piper concluded, "He's a great young man." Palmer worked for Piper at Angel's as a busboy, so she knew that son of Priscilla's a lot better. "Don't you have another son?" Piper asked. Wyatt seeing that Priscilla was being entertained, walked away to wish his cousin a happy birthday.

"Parker," Priscilla confirmed, intensely feeling the absence of Wyatt's buffering presence.

Paige and Phoebe had wandered over and overheard the profusion of p names. Paige started to giggle.

"How much have you had to drink, Missy Paige?" Piper asked acerbically.

"Nothing," Paige defended herself with a shrug. "You know I don't drink, Piper," She reminded her sister and then turned to Priscilla, "I hope I didn't offend you. I just thought only our family had a weird thing for 'P' names. I'm Paige," she shook hands with Priscilla.

"And I'm Phoebe," with that the middle Charmed sister struck out her hand.

Not shaking the proffered hand, Priscilla again, tried to excuse herself, "It's nice to meet you all, but I feel extremely awkward considering I shouldn't be here…at your family celebration." She started to walk away and she turned to toss back, "Please wish your daughter a happy birthday for me."

"What was that all about?" Piper asked.

"That woman was terrified!" Phoebe exclaimed, to Piper's astonishment. Piper hadn't really expected an answer, and then reminded herself that Pheebs was a powerful empath.

"Why?" Paige asked, puzzled. She _didn't_ look like The Source of All Evil, did she?

"All I know is that her emotions were on severe overload." Phoebe frowned, "She really was happy to meet us, but she was terrified to shake my hand." Phoebe dropped the bombshell, "That woman has one helluva secret."

"Do you know what it is?" Piper asked curiously.

"No, she threw up a blank. Good one too. I could barely get from her what I did, the only reason I got some is because she felt too much, too much to hide it all."

"The second innocent?" Piper mused.

"The one with connections to the Source?" Paige added.

"I think that this is one woman we need to keep an eye on." Phoebe confirmed.

(X)

A/N I hope you all enjoyed the 'episode'; I'll get started on the next one soon. Unfortunately mwahahaha I don't expect the Bennett's to play a part in that one, so you'll have to wait and see what happens next for dear, scared Priscilla.

Please r/r.

NEW A/N DONE


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